No One But Me
Disclaimer: Characters, spells etc you recognize belong to JK Rowling, not moi.
Warnings: Battle violence, a foul mouthed Harry.
A/N: Don't you just love Evil!Draco?
A flash of red collided with green, creating a scolding hot shower of sparkling dust that momentarily illuminated the whole battle field with its unnatural light. A shrill scream echoed in the distance as some innocent bystander was unwillingly caught in the heat of the fight; then it was gone as quickly as it had started as the owner of the voice had either been killed or whisked away to safety.
There was nothing gentle, nothing cautious or nothing merciful in the combat between a group of rogue Death Eaters, still trying their best to create mayhem and havoc even without their long deceased Lord, and the best unit of Combat Aurors the Auror Academy had to offer. It was brutal and vicious with savage spells and strong displays of offensive magic from all parties. The Aurors, for once, didn't hesitate to use greatly damaging curses as it was perfectly clear that their opponents were not afraid to use them, either. Somehow, a Stupefy just wasn't that effective when your enemy was attempting to gut your belly and hack your torso in two.
After all, the ultimate mission of the Combat Aurors was not to bring in as many Death Eaters alive as possible for interrogations but to strike hard and fast in order to prevent the dreaded rise of a new Dark Lord. Any known Death Eater was to be killed or forcibly detained in sight if resisting arrest or attempting to escape.
And the Death Eaters currently engaging in a fierce battle with the Aurors were definitely resisting arrest.
"Harry, look out!" came a warning shout and Harry whirled around, quickly dropping to the ground as a jet of green light nearly grazed his shoulder as it hurled past him. Not sparing his time to express gratitudes, Harry merely gave a curt nod at Ron and turned back to the Death Eater he was duelling with. A moment's distraction was sometimes all that a Death Eater needed and Harry was determined not to give even that small moment.
He raised his wand and brought it aggressively down like a whip; the Death Eater gave a pained cry as his chest was slashed open and staggered backwards. Harry advanced on him, ducking spells as he went, and finished the Death Eater off with a set of tightly wound ropes that prevented the Death Eater's escape should he survive from his injuries. With one more Death Eater down, Harry jumped back into the fight just in time to witness the fall of one of his comrades. A hasty glance around proved Harry that it was neither Ron or Hermione, both of them still standing and pushing back the Death Eaters with skill and fierceness that made Harry fill with pride.
They were fighting together, Hermione going low while Ron towered over her and fired off spells high. As Harry approached them, sidestepping an unconscious Death Eater, Hermione raised a golden shied that gave a metallic clang as a strong curse hit it, pushing the duo backwards an inch of two. His face set in pained grimace, Ron released a volley of fire balls as soon as Hermione dropped the shield again and a Death Eater crashed to the ground, black robes smouldering.
"Finnegan is down!" Harry cried as soon as he was near enough, shaking his aching hand that had caught a nasty curse that made the skin peel back. "Hermione, are you ready to go back?"
Hermione, dirt on her cheeks and a small cut above her left eye, rose from her crouching position at once, her dark red robes whirling around her. Allowing Harry to take her place beside Ron, the transition smooth and quick, she nodded and swiftly set towards Finnegan. Harry didn't need to watch over her to know she would transport her injured Auror and herself away from the battle and to the arms of the Healers awaiting their return. So far, there had only been two Auror who were hit by curses so badly they needed to leave. As a trained Mediwitch, it was Hermione's job to leave the fight when needed to take care of the injured – at the moment, the battle was so hectic it was impossible to attempt healing at the scene without being hurt herself, so she opted to just transport them to safety.
"They're coming from the right," murmured Ron, jerking his head. Without hesitation, Harry broke from the duel he was having and threw a bone-breaking curse to his right, earning himself an exclamation of pain as the curse hit its intended target. He didn't have time to check whether the Death Eater had fallen as he hastily had to conjure a shield so that Ron wouldn't be decapitated. The curse bounced off but left Harry clenching his teeth as the offensive magic backlashed at him, a twinge of pain hitting his nerves.
Ignoring the pain, he dropped the shield and he and Ron duo-attacked the nearest Death Eaters. Harry slashed his wand up and down, taking a step forward, while Ron seamlessly echoed his movements as if they had been joined at the hip. The Death Eater before them leaped to the side in desperation, but couldn't avoid being hit by the array of curses sent his way.
"He's down!" Ron crowded, immediately searching for their new targets in the midst of duelling and battling figures, bright jets of magic and small explosions that shook the earth. The next moment, he grunted and fell down like a rag doll, unconscious. Harry snarled and spun around, his wand held high, and came face to face with a tall Death Eater pointing his wand straight at Harry, whose wand went sailing from his hand, clattering to the ground behind Ron.
Harry snarled again, more annoyed than afraid, and dove at the Death Eater, taking his opponent by surprise by slamming into him with great force. They both went down, tumbling, in disarray of flailing limbs and flapping robes. Harry, slightly unfocused from the knock-out, struggled himself to the top and went for the Death Eater's wand, prying it from his fingers. Feeling rather out of breath, he managed to snatch the wand away but the Death Eater drew back his fist and punched him.
"Fuck!" Harry reeled back, cradling his jaw. The Death Eater sneered below him and punched Harry again. This time, Harry crashed to the ground beside the Death Eater and coughed up a loosened teeth. Damn, he has a downright vicious right hook. The Death Eater went for the third hit, but Harry ducked the brutal punch and rammed his already aching head straight into the Death Eater's stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of him. The Death Eater cursed breathlessly, scrambling for the wand lying nearby in the grass. Harry, instantly realizing he couldn't beat the Death Eater to the wand, reached inside his robes and unsheathed a dangerously sharp dagger from its hiding place and plunged it into the Death Eater's thigh. Blood instantly poured onto his hands.
The Death Eater let out a strangled scream, all attempts at reaching his wand gone, and Harry quickly pulled the bloodied dagger back, slashing the other leg as well before scurrying away from the howling Death Eater. Harry pulled himself to his feet and spat out blood, unflinchingly cleaning the dagger before hiding it from plain view again. He couldn't remember how many times the dagger had saved his life when he had been otherwise disarmed. Never rely on your wand alone, his trainer had taught him, and Harry was grateful he had paid attention.
Waving his hand at the Death Eater lying on the ground, twisting and gasping for breath, ropes materialized around his torso and Harry ran to Ron's fallen form, grabbing his wand as the crouched beside his friend. Speedily checking Ron was still breathing, though rather laboriously, he activated Ron's emergency Portkey by smearing blood on it, and the redhead disappeared from sight. Harry allowed himself to sigh with relief before jumping back up and surveying the battle field all around him.
Alternately raising his shield to block curses and hexes and lowering it to fire off offensive spells at the Death Eaters crossing his way, Harry took count of his fellow Aurors, yelling out orders and warnings. He sent two Aurors back, their injuries so bad they could barely hold their own. Knowing new Aurors – Hermione probably – would appear on the field to replace them, Harry wasn't that worried that they were quite outnumbered by the Death Eaters by now -
"Potter!"
Harry twirled around, quick as lightning, and blocked a cutting curse someone had thrown at him. A Death Eater stood a few feet away, a venomous sneer visible even with the skeletal mask covering his face. Harry narrowed his eyes; the voice sounded remotely familiar, but he was too busy to dwell on it – he sent a blast of magic, meant to seriously hurt, towards the Death Eater who easily blocked with a shimmering shield and his wand sliced through the air. "Sectumsempra!"
Harry crouched to avoid being hit by the curse and took a step closer, keeping his eyes on the Death Eater. "Everto Cruris!" he cried out with force, but the purple spell meant to destroy one's legs turned to sparkles as it was effectively blocked. Harry danced closer, ducking the familiar Crucio brushing past him like a hot breeze.
"That's the best you can offer?" he taunted with a scornful laugh. He brought his hands together forcefully, as if he were to clap, and a wild burst of fire shot off towards the Death Eater. "That's pathetic!"
The Death Eater's cloak caught on fire but it was quickly put out. "Trunco!" he screamed, seemingly angered, and Harry grimaced as he his shield barely absorbed the brutal curse, feeling the force of it all over his body. He felt a trickle of blood dripping down his chin. The same curse came at him again and this time, Harry flew onto his back with a groan, his shield shattering like a thin layer of glass. "Son of a bitch!"
He rolled on the grass, sensing the Death Eater's approach, and shot a quick Reducto over his shoulder to delay him. Judging by the surprised exclamation, the curse had met with its target, and Harry, smiling with grim pleasure, got the time he needed to climb back to his feet. He wiped the sticky blood from his face, stubbornly shaking off the tremors of pain – there were some mild healing potions in his belt but if he stopped now and took a gulp, he was vulnerable to any attacks - and stood to face the Death Eater again. The Death Eater had his face turned away and his hood had fallen; something white glinted on the dark ground, and Harry understood that the Reducto had smashed the Death Eater's mask into small pieces. A small thrill of triumph ran through Harry. He laughed again, disdainfully.
The Death Eater's head snapped back like a whip as he turned his face towards Harry. Harry almost took an involuntary step back as he recognized the pale, almost white hair and the stormy, grey eyes staring at him with loathing and ire. "Malfoy."
Draco Malfoy had turned his back on Harry's side for good and all by joining his father at the end of their seventh year at Hogwarts. From that moment on, the blonde had escaped every attempt to attain him, appearing now and then to show his immense liking for bloodshed he had apparently developed during the past couple of years. Harry knew Malfoy, a known Auror-killer, was very skilful, magically powerful and his ruthlessness and cruelty knew no limits – a worthy adversary, indeed.
"Potter," Malfoy sneered, his eyes glittering in the dim lightning. Harry vaguely thought he looked like an avenging angel with his white hair whipping around and the dominating sneer on his pale face. A hot surge of hatred towards Malfoy circled around Harry's body and he gave a sneer of his own. "I wish I could say how nice to see you again, Malfoy. Iacio Acidus!"
Glimmering, silvery knives whistled through the chill air, clanging against Malfoy's shield. One of the knives made of pure magic, however, penetrated the shield and Malfoy stumbled, a bleeding stab-wound on his shoulder. Harry's eyes narrowed in victory and he crowed quietly. He took small dancing steps closer and closer as they duelled, forcing Malfoy to take a few steps back. Malfoy regarded him coolly, depended on his magic - his curses calculatingly swift and precise, his defences hard and unyielding like a block of ice whereas Harry's fighting style was more physical and fierce in their emotions, and he was rolling and ducking to save his magical energy.
"Laxus Viscus!" Malfoy cast, a pale green jet of magic careening towards Harry, who sidestepped the incoming curse and countered with a bone-crushing hex, never letting his feet rest as he pranced and danced around Malfoy.
"Where's your precious Daddy, Malfoy?" he gloated with a dark grin. "Oh, forgive me – I forgot! Your Daddy is rotting in Azkaban, isn't he?"
Malfoy bared his teeth. "You should know, you send him there. Trunco!"
Harry's steps slightly faltered as the powerful heave of magic hit his shield again and nearly forced him to his knees – fucking hell with his knock-down curses – but he never took his eyes off from Malfoy. The blonde was deadly, he knew it.
"Your side can't win anymore, Malfoy." Harry did went on one knee then, ducking a curse and sending one of his own at the same time. They clashed in mid-air, giving a loud boom. "Your pitiful Lord is dead and you're nothing without him."
Malfoy's wide smirk showed his bloodied teeth again. "You never know when a new Dark Lord is rising, Potter, you should know it."
The sight of Malfoy's victorious smile made a cold shiver run down Harry's spine. He snarled at the blonde. "Aestus Estus!"
An enormous flame, roughly shaped like a lion, sprang forward and attacked Malfoy with a mighty roar of fire. Malfoy was swallowed by the flames, but for just a second – then the lion vanished in a spray of water and Malfoy emerged once more, soot on his hair and glistering burns on his cheeks, but otherwise unharmed. "Crucio!"
Knowing Unforgivables would penetrate any shield, Harry threw himself down and the curse sizzled just above him. "Rather unimaginative, isn't it, Malfoy?"
Malfoy growled and stabbed his wand towards Harry, uttering something too low for Harry to catch. A cloud of black smoke erupted from Malfoy's wand, swirling with a sinister twinkle. Harry took a hesitant step back, eyeing the suspicious smoke that started to make its way towards him. "Protego Coactum!" he quickly cast, summoning all his strength to the shield and watched as the black smoke reached him, moving like a living organism as it searchingly tapped against the shield as if seeking for entrance. What the hell is this? He cursed as he saw that they had danced away from the main battle and there was no-one around to assist him.
Then, to his horror, his shield began to waver as the cloud surrounded him, cracking and flickering until the shield vanished completely. Harry tried to erect the shield again but the smoke surged forward, painfully tingling against his skin as it fully enveloped him like a tight blanket. Dark magic. Harry's eyes drooped as a strong wave of utter weakness washed over him, making his limbs feel extraordinary heavy – if he could just let go of his wand and close his eyes, he could drift off – hell no! Harry's eyes snapped back open as he tried to fight the magic, struggling against the suffocating hold – he couldn't see, he couldn't hear -
"Expecto Patronum!" he croaked feebly, attempting to tighten the hold he still had on his wand. A burst of bright light started to chase away the dark smoke and Harry could suddenly breath properly again as fresh air invaded his senses. He blinked a couple of times, realizing he could see again – he craned his neck and saw the puff of black smoke being hacked to pieces by the familiar stag savagely using its antlers. Then a sharp pain erupted in his side and he cried out, rolling onto his back.
"Now who's pathetic, Potter," a hard voice sneered and Malfoy kicked him again, a hard boot digging into Harry's soft flesh. Harry gasped for breath, his sides burning like they had been set on fire. He saw a flicker of movement from the corner of his eye and, ignoring the protests his abused skin made, grabbed Malfoy's leg as it swung close to him again. He yanked, hard, and Malfoy tumbled down to the ground next to him into a rather undignified heap.
"I think we all know the answer for that," Harry wheezed, scrambling to his feet. He stood over Malfoy, staring down on him as the blonde's face contracted with fury. "You arrogant -"
Something caught him then, like a hand of fire that squeezed around his waist and his chest. Harry barely had the time realize someone had cursed him from behind before there was a loud crack, wetly echoing in Harry's ears, and he slid to the ground like a doll without any stuffing to hold it in upright position anymore. The grass was moist and cold under his cheek and Harry blinked, unable to move or even feel himself. "You fool!" someone shouted nearby in an outraged voice, "He's mine!" but Harry couldn't listen. There was a distant wetness spreading across his chest, just above his heart that was starting to slow down, the beats infrequent and weak. My spine. The curse snapped it in two.
Before he could even start to fully comprehend the meaning of it, rough hands grabbed his robes and lifted his upper torso up a little. Harry, barely able to righten his lolling head, looked up into Malfoy's darkened face. He coughed and blood, warm and metallic, began to ooze from between his lips, making them sticky and wet.
"You're dying," Malfoy said, his voice unemotional and blank. His face betrayed nothing.
"No shit," Harry breathed with difficulties, twisting his lips into a small, bloody grin. He wasn't afraid of dying – he was just disappointed he couldn't take Malfoy with him. "Tell me something I don't know."
He coughed again, feeling his heart flutter in desperation. He felt the air escaping from his injured lungs and all he could taste was the scent of his blood, rich and horrible on his thickened tongue. Allowing his eyes to drift close, Harry welcomed the approaching death and hoped someone else could finish Malfoy off for him.
"Not today, Potter," Malfoy murmured then, a hand reaching inside Harry's blood-stained robes, making Harry peek through his eyelashes in confusion, "not now, Potter. Not like this."
Something cold was pressed against Harry's chest and Harry blinked. A golden brooch, shaped like a small phoenix with rubies as its eyes. His emergency Portkey.
"You're mine," Malfoy whispered into his ear, his breath hot and unrelenting like a dragon's. "Mine to kill, Potter, only mine."
The Portkey was drenched in his blood and the last thing Harry saw from the battle field was Malfoy's silvery eyes, intense and vivid in their blood-lust.
fin